The basis of the most successful strategies is not outcompeting rivals, but rather creating your own game, your own market space.

It may be hard to believe, but all of us were children once. As children, we all experienced the sense of elation and accomplishment from inventing our own games and making use of random props and terrain to choreograph a customized pastime that was a blast to play. There was virtually no limit to what we could play and where. What if we could reignite our childhood creativity and deconstruct our realm of acquired assumptions in the process? It would not only be disarmingly fun but deeply meaningful in guiding our strategic thinking.

See how Randa Grob-Zakhary, CEO of the LEGO Foundation, is spearheading a global effort to raise the transformative power of play and its link to creativity.

We believe in a simple yet critical message: Play unlocks learning and development benefits that last a lifetime, and childhood presents a critical window of opportunity. Building on growing evidence supporting play’s transformational power in learning, we aim to become a catalyst for a global movement centred on the value of play, making children’s lives better and communities stronger.

As children our imagination knew no boundaries, but as we grew older our imagination was gradually reigned in and our thinking eventually settled within the accepted boundaries of conventionality.

It seems that our intellectual comfort zone has shifted from that of continuous exploration and inquisitiveness to that of conformity with accepted norms of adult perception. So in order to re-engage our childhood creativity not only do we need the right framework, but we must let go of self-limiting beliefs. A recent article summarizes four of the top misbeliefs affecting creativity today.

Think creativity is all blue walls and blue skies? Nope. It's more about sitting on an airplane and coming up with a lot of bad ideas.

“Creativity” may not be the first word that comes to mind when you hear the word “conglomerate.” But Christian Stadil, CEO and co-owner of Denmark-based Thornico, a sprawling enterprise with holdings in food, technology, shipping, and others, will likely change your mind about that.